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The Art of the Interview and The Science of Selection

The Art of the Interview andThe Science of Selection

A Process Approach to Recruiting Quality Individuals

Jason Widing Business Development ManagerLincoln Heritage Funeral Planning


The Processes of Art and Science— How are they Measured?


The most common Recruiting Process – A Miserable Measure


What is the Cause of “Revolving-Door Recruiting”?

• 50 Million active online resumes in circulation within U.S.

• ½ Million people falsely claim to have a college degree

• 68.7% fabricate reasons for leaving prior jobs

• 45.2% enhance previous job responsibilities

Source: Are You Using Best Practices in Hiring, www.hiresmart.comSource: The Kern/Ferry International Executive Recruiter Index (Part IV)


Additional Causes of “Revolving-Door Recruiting”?

• Harder to pinpoint compatibility than competence

• The 21st Century has Created the “Professional” Candidate

• “Trusting your gut”


What is the Cost of “Revolving-Door Recruiting”?

• 2004 cost-per-hire = $4,262. An increase of $260 from 2003 (a 6% increase)

• 6% Trend = Projected $6,046 Cost by 2010

• U.S. DOL reported cost at 1/3 or more of annual salary for hourly

Source: Recruiting Metrics and Performance Benchmark Report, July 2004.


What is the Real Cost of “Revolving-Door Recruiting”?

• Lost Opportunity• Lost Productivity• Training Costs• Additional Recruiting Costs• Severance Packages• Litigation• Others?


How do you break away from “Revolving-Door Recruiting”?

Step 1. Adopt the guiding philosophy of “Performance Excellence”

Step 2. Evaluate and identify key improvement opportunities within recruiting

Step 3. Make the Change – Create the Process – Pre-Hire and Application Process– Interviewing and Hiring Process


Creating the Selection Process – Opportunities for Improvements

Pre-Hire and Application Processes

Defining the Organization and Position Objectives

Sourcing Potential

Candidate

Prescreening and

Information Gathering

Building your Recruiting Database

Do We have a Match?

The Science of Selection



Who are you?• How do you describe your

company’s “culture?”

• What role does your firm play in your community?

• What role does your company play in the larger corporate structure (if applicable)?

Your hiring practices must be consistent with your Mission,

Vision, and Management Philosophy.


Defining the Organization and Position Objectives (cont)

Where is your target?• Have you analyzed your capacity relative to

your production goal?–Do you really know how many people you need?

• Have you established the qualifications for the position?

–Are the qualifications relevant? – Is there a job description? A current job description?


Sourcing Potential Candidates

• Companies face up to a 90% yield loss in the recruiting process when good candidates opt out of the hiring process.

• 75% of 300 companies recently said they had lost qualified candidates in the last quarter because the recruiting process moved too slowly.

Source: Growing Your Company, 3 Strategic Recruiting Practices


Sourcing Potential Candidates (cont)

• Employment Web Site – 21%• Referrals – 19%• General Job Boards – 15%• Search Firms – 10%• Campus Recruiting – 8%• “Other” – 6%• Niche Job Boards – 6%• Social Network Web Sites – 5%

Over 50% of New Hires were sourced from the internet

Source: 2006 Recruiting Trends Survey Summary, Direct Employers


Prescreen and Information Gathering

“Trust. But verify”- Anonymous


Three Stages of Prescreening and Information Gathering

Impa

ct o

n Pe

rfor

man

ce

PRELIMINARYAppearance MannerExpressivenessInterests Presence

Stages of Prescreening and Information Gathering

COMPETENCYKnowledgeAcquired SkillsTrainingExperience Education Credentials

COMPATABILITYAttitudes and BeliefsSelf Motivation Stability and Persistence Maturity and Judgment Aptitude/TemperamentBehavior Patterns

(APPEAR TO…) (CAN DO…) (WILL DO…)


Interviewing & Hiring Processes

Candidate Invited forInterview

Conditional Offer of Employment

Drug & Alcohol, Reference Screening (Background Checks)

Hired

The Art of the Interview

Creating the Interviewing Process –Opportunities for Improvements


Interview Preparation

• Have you prepared and practiced your interview questions?– Are you consistent and do you have a “questioning strategy?”

Your strategy depends on who you are and your goal.

• Have you prepared the environment?– NO INTERRUPTIONS. Does your choice of time and place allow you and

the prospect to “relax and focus?”

• Have you studied all resumes?– You have control. Can you keep it?


Interview Preparation (cont)

• Do you know all compliance requirements?– Do’s and Don’ts– Do you have enough money to

burn a wet mule?


What is an Interview?


Conducting the Interview

• Turn your ears on – Good interviewers employ the 80/20 rule; listening 80% of the time

and speaking 20% of the time or less

• Rephrase questions– Don’t let the superficial slide

• Get comfortable with silence– Common courtesy demands it


Conducting the Interview (cont)

• Follow up with and interject additional probing questions with “Professional Persistence”– Get the candidate to expand his/her answer

• Take copious notes.– Not on the resume.– Your notes are a legal document.

• Panning for Gold– Behaviors/Habits– Skills vs. Disciplines/Work Ethic


Behavioral Interview Questions…… ask for specific examples of how the candidate has demonstrated a job-related behavior in the past.

Interviewing Candidates


• Tell me about some of the obstacles that have threatened the success of your team. What steps have you taken to overcome those obstacles?

• As a manager, what’s the most frustrating part of your current job?

• Tell me about a time you had to use a persuasive approach to get one of your staff back on track?

• Tell me about a decision you made within the last year that was not particularly well liked.

Sample Behavioral Interviewing Questions


“Flip the switch”…But, don’t oversell.

Conducting the Interview (cont)


Follow Up

• What “protection” or “security measures” do you insist upon?

– Do you check references? Do you REQUIRE a list of references?– Do you get background checks?

• What selection criteria, tools, and/or processes do you employ?

– Objectivity is KEY

• Is a second interview in order?– Think investment, capacity, and TEAM


Follow Up (cont)

• How do you prepare the “offer?”– Leave nothing to guesswork.

• Do you send “regrets” to everyone interviewed?

• What does your “Welcome Wagon” look like?


A Scientific and Artistic Recruiting Process

Pre-Hire and Application Processes


Sourcing Potential

Candidate

Prescreening and

Information Gathering

Building your Recruiting Database

Interviewing & Hiring Processes

Do We havea Match?

Candidate Invited forInterview

ConditionalOffer of

Employment

Drug & AlcoholReferenceScreening

(BackgroundChecks)

HiredHired


You Can Teach a Turkey to Climb a Tree, But It’s Easier to Hire a Squirrel.

•

• Spenser & Spenser (1993)

-VS-

What Do You Want to Hire?

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